This invention relates generally to jewelry and more particularly to a flexible necklace having an articulated construction.
A necklace is perhaps the most prominent piece of jewelry that a person wears. It may have sentimental associations for the wearer or may be considered as a fashion item to complete or complement a clothing outfit, for example, a suit or a dress. Precious metals, for example, gold, are frequently used in necklaces. The size of a necklace of precious metal, as it appears to the viewer, may give a suggestion of the monetary value of the necklace. Thus, wide necklaces, although made very thin, are often favored over narrow necklaces, as they present to the viewer a greater area or face of precious metal, and a greater impression of the monetary value of the necklace. Wide necklaces also offer opportunity for attractive designs. Resulting from these economic and aesthetic considerations, flat necklaces of minimum thickness but maximized frontal width, are common and in continuous demand.
However, a problem can arise with wide-faced necklaces, whether thick or thin, in that it may be difficult to bend such a necklace in the plane of the necklace. Thus, a wide necklace may tend not to lay properly around the neck of a wearer, there being a tendency for the necklace to curl and not lie flat against the body surface or clothing. If additionally, the necklace is thin, curling is a greater problem. This problem is resolved in better bead or pearl necklaces, for example, by the knotted connections between the individual beads or pearls. Such a necklace can be bent into any shape without any induced stresses. Similarly, link and rope-type necklaces are flexible and can be easily draped around the neck without regard to any special orientation. However, the very popular herringbone chain necklace, which has the great advantage that it can be made wide yet very thin, does not easily bend except outside the plane defined by the herringbone face or surface. As the necklace is made wider, the more difficult it becomes for the necklace to follow the contours of the wearer's body or clothing. Consequently, there is a practical limitation on the width of herringbone chain necklaces, if they are to conveniently and properly rest on the user.
What is needed is a herringbone chain necklace construction of substantial width, yet having flexibility to permit the necklace to drape properly around the neck of a user without curling or inducing unwanted stresses in the necklace itself.